>

The other mermaids

Sometimes, when we are traveling out at sea, we catch a glimpse of a mermaid. She has long golden tresses of hair, her face is almost too lovely to behold, and the scales on her graceful tail show a magical rainbow of colors before she disappears under the sea.

Of course, we may also spot one of the other mermaids—one who is bonier or rounder, a few years older, perhaps decorated with additional fins or an abundance of prickly spines. Hair that squirms rather than flows in silky strands is not uncommon, either!

Mermaids are not all the same.

So, when we think of any familiar character, we can step back to give it (her!) some room. We can let the look of the character wander in an unexpected direction! We can put webbing in-between the fingers and bright yellow into the eyes.